BUS 5204: STRATEGIC BUSINESS

MANAGEMENT
FOR MBA-CM, MSc. A&F, MSc. PSCM, MSc-
MM & MSc. Entrep

By Hawa Petro Tundui (PhD)

 COURSE OBJECTIVES
• Explain and evaluate a range of theories and concepts of strategy
and the strategy process
• Critically review the strategy of an organization, with respect to
environmental and organisational fits
• Critically review functional policies and priorities from a strategic
perspective
• Synthesize theory and practice to assess the efficacy of strategic
models and frameworks
• Critically evaluate implementation and control mechanisms that
minimize problems in strategic change
• Produce creative solutions to strategic problems for organizations
facing diverse environmental and organisational constraints,
where there is incomplete information and ambiguity
 Readings
• Recent Strategic Management Books
 TODAY’S SESSION
• Introduction of SBM
• Environmental Analysis
– External analysis
– Internal Analysis
 STRATEGIC BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
• SBM is about managerial decisions and actions
that determine the long-run performance
• Environmental scanning (internal & external),
strategy formulation, strategy implementation,
and evaluation and control.
• SBM is concerned with monitoring and evaluating
of environmental opportunities and constraints in
light of a corporations strengths and weaknesses
 Question
• Why should we learn Strategic Business
Management?
 Three Key Strategic Questions
• SBM is about answering these questions:
• Where is the organization now?
– Current position
• If no changes are made, where will the
organization be in one, two, five or ten years?
– Are the answers acceptable?
• If the answers are not acceptable, what specific
actions should management undertake?
– What are the risks and payoffs involved?
 Strategic Management Model

Environmental Strategy Strategy Evaluation

Scanning Formulation Implementation and Control

External Mission
Reason for
Societal
existence
Environment Objectives
General Forces
What results
to
Task Strategies
accomplish
Environment
by when Plan to
Industry Analysis
achieve the
Policies
mission &
Internal objectives Broad
guidelines for Programs
Structure decision Process
Chain of Command making Activities to monitor
needed to performance
Culture Budgets and take
accomplish
Beliefs, Expectations, a plan corrective
Cost of the
Values action
programs
Procedures
Resources
Sequence
Assets, Skills
of steps
Competencies,
needed to
Knowledge do the job Performance

Feedback/Learning
 Some SBM Models
• SWOT Analysis
• PEST Model.
• Porter's Five Forces Model.
• Balanced Scorecard.
• Value Chain Analysis.
• Gap Planning.
 Environmental Scanning
• Monitoring, evaluating and disseminating
information
• Scan via SWOT/ SWOC ANALYSIS
• Scan external environment for opportunities and
threats, and
• Scan internal environment for strengths and
weaknesses.
• Then, Identify strategic factors
 Environmental Scanning
• External: Societal Environment
• External: Task Environment (industry analysis)
• Internal environment
 Environment Scanning
Political-Legal
Economic TASK ENVIRONMENT
Forces
Forces Shareholders
Suppliers

Customers Employees/
ORGANIZATION Labor Unions

Government Structure
Culture Competitors
Resources
Creditors

Socio-Cultural Special Interest Technological

Forces Communities Groups Forces
Trade Associations
 Societal environment
• These are general forces that do not directly touch
on the short-run activities of the organization but
which often influences its long-run decisions
• PEST MODEL:
– POLITICAL-LEGAL
– ECONOMICAL
– SOCIAL-CULTURAL
– TECHNOLOGICAL
 POLITICAL –LEGAL FACTORS
• Laws and regulations that govern business
operations
• Government policies (such as the degree of
intervention in the economy).
– What goods and services does a government want to
provide?
– To what extent does it believe in subsidising firms?
– What are its priorities in terms of business support?
• Political Decisions and their impact on business
– Education, Health, Infrastructure
 Economical factors
• Economic forces, regulate the exchange of
materials, money, energy and information.
• These include interest rates, taxation changes,
money supply, inflation rates, unemployment
levels, exchange rates
• How can these factors affect business
environment?
 Socio-cultural factors
• Sociocultural forces, regulate the values, morals
and customs of society.
• Changes in social trends can impact on the demand
for a firm's products and the availability and
willingness of individuals to work.
– Demographic changes
- Social values
- Lifestyles
• How does these affect business activities?
 Technological forces
• Technological forces, which generate
problem-solving inventions.
• New technologies create new products and
new processes
• what are the new technologies?
• What is the impact technological changes on
business?
 Environmental forces
• Environmental factors: environmental factors
include the weather and climate change.
• Changes in temperature can impact on many
industries including farming, tourism and
insurance.
• Climate changes occurring due to global
warming
 Disaster Management Plan
• Organization and management of resources and
responsibilities for dealing with all aspects of
emergencies, in particular preparedness, response
and recovery in order to lessen the impact of
disasters
• Disaster Management ACT 2015
 Business continuity planning
• Business continuity planning (BCP) is the process
involved in creating a system of prevention and
recovery from potential threats to a company.
• The plan ensures that personnel and assets are
protected and are able to function quickly in the
event of a disaster
 Your Home work
• Read about
– Disaster Management Plan
– Business Continuity Plan
– Why do you need them?
 :
Identifying External Strategic
factors
• Why do managers respond differently to the same
environmental changes?
• Issues Priority Matrix
– used to identify and analyze developments in the
external environment
 Issues Priority Matrix
• Identify likely trends from societal and task
environment:
– Strategic environmental issues
• Assess probability of these trends occurring
– from Low to High
• Ascertain likely impact of trends on the
corporation
– From Low to High
Issues Priority Matrix
Probable Impact on Corporation

High Medium Low

High High Medium

High
Priority Priority Priority
Probability of Occurrence

Medium

High Medium Low

Priority Priority Priority

Medium Low Low

Low

Priority Priority Priority

24
 Issues Priority Matrix
• Strategic factors:
– Key environmental trends that are judged to have
both a medium to high probability of occurrence
and a medium to high probability of impact on
the corporation.
• Strategic Factors
– Opportunities and Threats/Challenges
REVISION
 Industry Analysis
• An in-depth examination of key factors
within a corporation’s task environment.
• What is an Industry?
• An Industry is a group of firms producing a
similar product/service (eg.)
• An examination of the important
stakeholder group is a part of industry
analysis
 Task Environment (Industry analysis)

Shareholders Suppliers

Customers Employees/
ORGANIZATION Labor Unions
Government

Structure Competitors
Creditors Culture
Resources Special Interest Groups
Communities
Trade Associations
Industry Analysis (Michael Porter)

29
 Rivalry Among Existing Firms
• Number of competitors
• Rate of industry growth
• Product or service characteristics
• Amount of fixed costs
• Capacity
• Height of exit barriers
• Diversity of rivals
 Threat of New Entrants
• New entrants to an industry bring new capacity, a
desire to gain market share and substantial resources
(Threats to existing)
• Entry barrier- an obstruction that makes it difficult for
a company to enter an industry
– Economies of scale
– Product differentiation
– Capital requirements
– Switching costs
– Access to distribution channels
– Cost disadvantages independent of size
– Government policy
Threat of Substitute Products or
Services
• Substitute Products:
– Those products that appear to be different but
can satisfy the same need as another product.
– To the extent that switching costs are low,
substitutes can have a strong effect on an
industry
• What happens when price of substitute
goes up?
 Bargaining Power of Buyers
• Ability of buyers to force prices down, bargain for
higher quality, play competitors against each other
• Buyer is powerful when:
– Buyer purchases large proportion of seller’s products
– Buyer has the potential to integrate backward
– Alternative suppliers are plentiful
– Changing suppliers costs very little
– Purchased product represents a high percentage of a
buyer’s costs
– Buyer earns low profits
– Purchased product is unimportant to the final quality
or price of a buyer’s products
 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
• Ability of suppliers to raise prices or reduce quality
• Supplier is powerful when:
• Supplier industry is dominated by a few companies
but sells to many
• Its product is unique and/or has high switching
costs
• Substitutes are not readily available
• Suppliers are able to integrate forward and
compete directly with present customers
• Purchasing industry buys only a small portion of
the supplier’s goods.
 Relative Power of Other
Stakeholders
• Government
• Local communities
• Creditors
• Trade associations
• Special interest groups
• Unions
• Shareholders
• Complementors- products that work well
with a firm’s product
 Industry Evolution
• Industry evolve from growth, maturity, eventual
decline
• Fragmented Industry –
• No firm has large market share and each firm serves
only a small piece of the total market in competition
with others
• Consolidated Industry –
Dominated by a few large firms, each of which
struggles to differentiate its products from the
competition
INTERNAL ANALYSIS

BUS 5204
 Why Internal Analysis?
• Enables a firm to identify its strengths and
weaknesses.
• Enables a firm to make good strategic decisions.
• Information from internal environment provides
basis for developing strategies
• Determine if resources and capabilities are likely
sources of competitive advantage
Internal Environment

ORGANIZATION

Structure
Culture
Resources
 Why Internal Analysis?
• Enables a firm to identify its strengths and
weaknesses.
• Enables a firm to make good strategic decisions.
• Information from internal environment provides
basis for developing strategies
• Determine if resources and capabilities are likely
sources of competitive advantage
 SBM Models
• SBM Models to analyze Internal Environment
• Resource Based-View (RBV)
• Value Chain Analysis
 The Resource-Based View
• Developed to answer the question (Barney, 1991):

• Why do some firms achieve better economic

performance than others?
• used to help firms achieve competitive advantage
and superior economic performance
• assumes that a firm’s resources and capabilities
are the primary drivers of competitive advantage
and economic performance
 Organizational Resources
• Organizational resources are assets
• They can be tangible or intangible.
• They can be specific and non-specific:
• Specific resources can only be used for highly
specialized purposes; for adding value
• Assets that are less specific are less important in
adding value, but are more flexible.
 Organizational Resources
• Financial resources
– Current debt, credit lines, equity, cash reserves, etc.
• Physical resources
– Plant & equipment, inventories, supplies, fixtures, etc.
• Human resources
– Management & employee skills, training, experiences,
etc
• Intangible resources
• Brand names, patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.
• Structural-cultural resources
• Culture, history, work systems policies, formal reporting
structures, etc
 General Competences/capabilities
• They are assets like industry-specific skills,
relationships and organizational knowledge which
are largely intangible and invisible assets.
• Competences and capabilities will often be
internally generated, but may be obtained by
collaboration with other organizations.
• Involves complex pattern of coordination between
people, & between people and resources.
• It’s an internal activity that a company performs
better than other internal activities
 Core Competencies
• A well-performed internal activity that is
central, not peripheral, to a company’s strategy,
competitiveness, and profitability
• Major value-creating skills and capabilities that
– are shared across multiple product lines or multiple
businesses
– Results from the collaboration among different parts
of an organization
• Gives a company a potentially valuable
competitive capability
 Core Competencies
Four potential sources of Core competences:
• Reputation,
• Architecture (i.e., internal and external
relationship),
• Innovation,
• Strategic assets
 Types of Capabilities/Core
Competencies
• Skills in manufacturing a high quality product
• System to fill customer orders accurately and swiftly
• Fast development of new products
• Better after-sale service capability
• Superior know-how in selecting good retail locations
• Innovativeness in developing popular product
features
• Merchandising and product display skills
• Expertise in an important technology
• Expertise in integrating multiple technologies to
create whole families of new products
 Distinctive Capabilities
• Special and unique capabilities that distinguish
the organization from its competitors
• A competitively valuable activity that a company
performs better than its rivals
• Allow a company to develop a sustainable
competitive advantage and outperform its
competition
• Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA):
• The prolonged maintenance of competitive advantage
 Two Assumptions of the RBV
• Resource Heterogeneity
– different firms may have different resources
• Resource Immobility
– It may be costly for firms without certain resources
to acquire or develop them
– some resources may not spread from firm to firm
easily
 Implications of RBV
Assumptions
• if one firm has resources that are valuable and
other firms don’t, and…
• if other firms can’t imitate these resources
without incurring high costs, then…
• the firm possessing the valuable resources will
likely gain a sustained competitive advantage
 Resource Heterogeneity
• heterogeneity of resources typically occurs as the
result of combining the resources and capabilities of
a firm
• managers of a firm could take resources that seem
homogeneous and ‘bundle’ them to create
heterogeneous combinations
• competitive advantage typically stems from several
resources and capabilities ‘bundled’ together
 VRIO FRAMEWORK
• FOUR IMPORTANT QUESTIONS IN RBV:
– Value
– Rarity
– Imitability
– Organization
 THE VRIO FRAMEWORK
• If a firm has resources that are
– Valuable
– Rare,
– Costly to Imitate, and
– the firm is organized to exploit these resources
• then the firm can expect to enjoy a sustained
competitive advantage
 Applying the VRIO Framework
• a resource or bundle of resources is subjected to
each question to determine the competitive
implication of the resource
• each question is considered in a comparative sense
(competitive environment)
 The Question of Value
• In theory: Does the resource enable the firm to
exploit an external opportunity or neutralize an
external threat?
• The practical: Does the resource result in an
increase in revenues, a decrease in costs, or some
combination of the two?
 The Question of Rarity
• A resource is rare simply if it is not widely
possessed by other competitors
• if a resource is not rare, then perfect competition
dynamics are likely to be observed (i.e., no
competitive advantage, no above normal profits)
• there may be other firms that possess the
resource, but still few enough that there is scarcity
 The Question of Imitability
• A resource is inimitable and non-substitutable if it
is difficult for another firm to acquire it or a
substitute something else in its place
• the temporary competitive advantage of valuable
and rare resources can be sustained only if
competitors face a cost disadvantage in imitating
the resource
• intangible resources are usually more costly to
imitate than tangible resources
 The Question of Organization
• A resource is organized if the firm is able to actually
use it
• a firm’s structure and control mechanisms must be
aligned so as to give people ability and incentive to
exploit the firm’s resources
• e.g.: formal and informal reporting structures,
management controls, compensation policies,
relationships
• these structure and control mechanisms
complement other firm resources—taken together,
they can help a firm achieve sustained competitive
 The VRIO Framework
Costly to Exploited by Competitive
Valuable? Rare? Imitate? Organization? Implications

No No Disadvantage

Yes No Parity

Temporary
Yes Yes No Advantage

Sustained
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advantage
 The VRIO Framework
Costly to Exploited by Competitive Economic
Valuable? Rare? Imitate? Organization? Implications Implications

No No Disadvantage Below
Normal

Yes No Parity Normal

Temporary Above
Yes Yes No Advantage Normal

Sustained Above
Yes Yes Yes Yes Normal
Advantage
 Strengths and Weaknesses
• Strengths
– Resources that an organization possesses and
capabilities that the organization has developed
– Both can be exploited and developed into a
sustainable competitive advantage
• Weaknesses
– Resources and capabilities that are lacking or
deficient; and that
– Prevents an organization from developing a
sustainable competitive advantage
VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS
 Value Chain Analysis
• Value chain analysis is a technique developed by
Porter (1985) for understanding an organization’s
value-adding activities and relationship between
them
• Porter extended value chain analysis to the value
system, analysis of the relationship between the
organization, its suppliers, distribution channels
and customers
• Competitive advantage depends on the ability of
the organization to organize its resources and
value-adding activities in a way that is superior to
 The Value Chain
 The value chain is the chain of activities which
results in the final value of a business’s products.
 Value added, or margin is indicated by sales
revenue minus costs.
 Porter divided internal parts of organization into
primary and support activities
 Primary activities are those that directly contribute
to production of good or services and
organization’s provision to customer
 Support activities are those that aid primary
activities, but do not themselves add value
A typical Value Chain

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 Value Chain Analysis
• Value can be added in three ways:
• By producing products at a lower cost than
competitors
• By producing products of greater perceived
value than those of competitors
• Quick response to specific or distinctive
customer needs
 Value Chain
 Certain activities or combinations of activities are
likely to relate closely to the organization’s core
competences, termed core activities. They are:
Add the greatest value
Add more value than the same activities in
competitors’ value chains
Relate to and reinforce core competences
 Other value chain activities that relate to
capabilities, but do not add greater value than
competitors and they do not relate to core
competences
 The Value Chain Analysis
• Examine each product line’s value chain in terms of
the various activities involved in producing the
product or service
– Core competencies & core deficiencies
• Examine the linkages within each product line’s
value chain
– Connections between the way one value activity is
performed and the cost of performance of another
activity
• Examine the potential synergies among the value
chains of different product lines or business units
 The Value chain Analysis
• Identify factors that determine costs of different
activities
• Understand why a firm’s costs or a industry’s costs
differs from its competitors
• Understand why large differences in profitability
exist within the same industry
• Identify which activities are performed efficiently or
inefficiently
• Show how costs in one activity influence another
• Identify competitor’s cost positions
 The Value Chain System
Upstream Firm’s Own
Value Chain Value Chain Downstream Value Chains

Internally
Activities,
Performed Costs, &
Activities, Activities, Margins of
Costs, & Buyer/User
Costs, & Forward
Margins of Value
Margins Channel
Suppliers Chains
Allies &
Strategic
Partners
 Examples of Key Value Chain
Activities
• Soft Drinks Industry
– Processing of basic ingredients
– Syrup manufacture
– Bottling & can filling
– Wholesale distribution
– Retailing
• Computer Software Industry
– Programming
– Disk Loading
– Marketing
– Distribution
 The Value Chain System
• A company’s cost competitiveness depends
on how well it manages its value chain
relative to competitors
• Three areas contribute to cost differences
1. Suppliers’ activities
2. The company’s own internal activities
3. Forward channel activities
 The Value Chain System
• Assessing a company’s cost competitiveness
involves comparing costs along the industry’s value
chain
• Suppliers’ value chains are relevant because
– Costs, quality, and performance of inputs provided by
suppliers influence a firm’s own costs and product
performance
• Forward channel allies’ value chains are relevant
because
– Forward channel allies’ costs and margins are part of price
paid by ultimate end-user
– Activities performed affect end-user satisfaction
 Strategic Options for Correcting Costs
Competitiveness
• Supplier-related costs disadvantages:
• Negotiate more favorable prices with suppliers
• Work with suppliers to achieve lower costs
• Integrate backward
• Use lower-priced substitute inputs
• Do a better job of managing linkages between
suppliers’ value chains and firm’s own chain
• Make up difference by initiating cost savings in
other areas of value chain
 Strategic Options for Correcting Costs
Competitiveness
• Forward channel allies’ costs disadvantages:
• Push for more favorable terms with distributors and
other forward channel allies
• Work closely with forward channel allies and
customers to identify win-win opportunities to
reduce costs
• Change to a more economical distribution strategy
• Make up difference by initiating cost savings earlier
in value chain
 Strategic Options for Correcting Costs
Competitiveness
• Firm’s own internal cost disadvantages:
• Reengineer performance of high-cost activities or business
processes
• Eliminate some cost-producing activities altogether by
revamping value chain system (VCS)
• Relocate high-cost activities to lower-cost geographic areas
• See if high-cost activities can be performed cheaper by
outside vendors/suppliers
• Invest in cost-saving technology
• Simplify product design
• Achieving savings in backward or forward portions of VCS
 From Value Chain Analysis to
Competitive Advantage
• A company can create competitive advantage by
managing its value chain so as to
– Integrate the knowledge and skills of employees in
competitively valuable ways
– Leverage economies of learning or experience curve
effects
– Coordinate related activities in ways that build valuable
capabilities
– Build dominating expertise in a value chain activity
critical to customer satisfaction or market success
 From Value Chain Analysis to
Competitive Advantage
• The strategy-making lesson of value chain analysis
is that sustainable competitive advantage can be
created by:
(1). Managing the value chain activities better than
competitors; and
(2). Developing distinctive capabilities to serve the
needs of customers better
Approaches to internal analysis
(1) Value Chain Analysis…..√
(2) Competitive Strength Assessment
(3) An Internal Audit
(4) Internal Environmental Analysis Process
(5) Capabilities Assessment Profile
 Assessing Organization’s
Competitive Strength
• How does the firm rank relative to key rivals on each
industry KSF and relevant measure of competitive
strength (capabilities or core competencies)?
• Does the firm have a sustainable competitive advantage
or disadvantage
• What is the ability of the firm to defend its position in
light of
– Industry driving forces
– Competitive pressures
– Anticipated moves of rivals
 Assessing Organization’s
Competitive Strength
1. List industry key success factors and other relevant
measures of competitive strength
2. Rate firm and key rivals on each factor using rating
scale of 1 - 10 (1 = weak; 10 = strong)
3. Decide whether to use a weighted or unweighted
rating system
4. Sum individual ratings to get overall measure of
competitive strength for each rival
5. Determine whether the firm enjoys a competitive
advantage or suffers from competitive disadvantage
 Assessing Organization’s
Competitive Strength
• A weighted competitive strength analysis is
conceptually stronger than an unweighted
competitive strength analysis because
– All the strength measures are not equally important.
– E.g., in an industry with strong product differentiation,
the significant strength measures may be
• Brand awareness
• Reputation for quality
• Amount of advertising
• Distribution capability, etc.
 Some KSF/Strength Measures

• Quality/product performance
• Reputation/image
• Manufacturing capability
• Technological skills
• Dealer network/Distribution channels
• New product innovation
• Financial resources
• Relative cost position
• Customer service capability
 Assessing Organization’s
Competitive Strength
• What does a high competitive strength rating relative to
rivals mean?
– Strong competitive position & possession of competitive
advantages
– Opportunity for company to improve its long-term market
position
• Good strategy entails
– Looking for opportunities to leverage company strengths into
competitive advantage
– Using company strengths to attack the competitive
weaknesses of rivals
 Why Do a Competitive Strength
Assessment?

• Reveals strength of firm’s competitive position

• Shows how firm stacks up against rivals, measure-
by-measure -- pinpoints the company’s
competitive strengths and competitive
weaknesses
• Indicates whether firm is at a competitive
advantage / disadvantage against each rival
• Identifies possible offensive attacks (pit company
strengths against rivals’ weaknesses)
• Identifies possible defensive actions (a need to
correct competitive weaknesses)
 How to Do an Internal Analysis
Approaches to internal analysis
(1) Value Chain Analysis
(2) Competitive Strength Assessment
(3) An Internal Audit
(4) Internal Environmental Analysis Process
(5) Capabilities Assessment Profile
 (3) Using an Internal Audit
• Internal Audit
– A thorough assessment of an organization’s
various internal functional areas
– Strategic decision makers use the internal audit to
assess the organization’s resources and
capabilities from the perspectives of its different
functions
 Using an Internal Audit
• Six primary functional areas
– Production-operations
– Marketing
– Research & development
– Financial and accounting
– Management, including HRM
– Information System
• Depending on products, markets, and industries,
individual organizational structures may vary and,
therefore, may emphasize different sets of functional
areas
 (4) Using an Internal Environmental
Analysis Process

• Assesses an organization’s internal activities

– Step 1: Survey strengths and weaknesses
– Step 2: Categorize these strengths & weaknesses
(S&W) in terms of resources & capabilities
– Step 3: Investigate the potential of strengths to lead
to competitive advantage
– Step 4: Evaluate the ability of these competitively
resources & capabilities to serve as the basis for an
appropriate competitive strategy
 (5) Capabilities Assessment Profile

• Resembles the internal environmental analysis

– Similarity: Focuses on deeper evaluation of S&W
– Difference: Focuses only on an firm’s capabilities
• Analysis of capabilities is complex
– Not as easily identified as organization’s function or
even the value creating primary & support activities
– Complex nature of capabilities makes it hard for
competitors to imitate
 Capabilities Assessment Profile

• Analysis Consists of two phases:

– Phase I: Identify distinctive capabilities
– Phase II: Develop and leverage distinctive capabilities
• Identifying Distinctive Organizational Capabilities
– Step 1: Prepare current product-market profile
• Emphasize organization-customer interactions
• What is the organization selling?
• Who are the organization selling to?
• Is the organization providing superior customer value &
desirable benefits?
Capabilities Assessment Profile
– Step 2: Identify sources of competitive advantage
& disadvantage in the main product-market
segment
• Determine why customers choose the organization’s
products vs. those of competitors
• Involves information on cost, product, and service
attributes
– When customers purchase
– What they’re actually purchasing
– What bundle of attributes satisfies their needs
 Capabilities Assessment Profile
– Step 3: Describe all organizational capabilities &
competencies
• Examine resources, skills, & abilities of the various divisions
• Determine which resources, skills, & abilities lead to a
competitive advantage
– Step 4: Sort the core capabilities/competencies
according to strategic importance
• Can capability provide wide access to a number of different
markets?
• Does the capability provide tangible customer benefits?
• Is the capability difficult for competitors to imitate?
 Capabilities Assessment Profile
– Step 5: Identify and agree on the key capabilities or
competencies
• Provide basis for resource allocation
• Classifying an Organization’s S&W
– Past performance trends
• Measures such as financial ratios, operations efficiency, etc,
– Specific goal or targets
• Organization’s goals are statements of desired outcomes
– Comparison against competitors
• How are competitors doing?
– Personal opinions of decision makers & consultants